Correlation of magnetic and dielectric relaxation to perovskite/spinel structural phase transition in Bi 0.9 La 0.1 FeO 3 –Fe 3 O 4 bi-phase composites

Nanocomposites are widely investigated nowadays due to their vast applications in multifunctional devices. La-doped Bi 0.9 FeO 3 is considered as potential candidate to be utilized in multiferroic applications. However, limitations of this composition include weak magnetic and magnetoelectric response. To overcome weak magnetic response of this material, a series of nanocomposite samples is presented here by combining it with optimized Fe 3 O 4 contents. X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the cubic structure of Fe 3 O 4 belonging to space group Fd 3‾ m and the rhombohedral-type perovskite crystal structure of Bi 0.9 La 0.1 FeO 3 having space group R 3 m. Field emission scanning electron microscopy reveals spherical shapes of nanograins. High dielectric constant with fewer energy losses revealed for pure Bi 0.9 La 0.1 FeO 3 composition, while saturation magnetization and remanent magnetization were increased with the addition of Fe 3 O 4 phase into Bi 0.9 La 0.1 FeO 3. Enhanced magnetic properties with moderate dielectric properties of 0.6Bi 0.9 La 0.1 FeO 3 +0.4Fe 3 O 4 make it a prominent and potential candidate to be utilized in memory storage devices.